Because everyone could use a little Pixie Dust in their lives!

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There are many benefits to living near NYC. We are so close to amazing museums, great Broadway (capital B here!) shows, and many musical events. But sometimes you don’t want to head into the city. It’s nice to have options in Westchester for entertainment and musical enrichment.

I recently learned about the Westchester Philarmonic through a friend. Now in its 31st season, the Westchester Philharmonic is the oldest, continuously running professional symphony orchestra and largest performing arts organization in Westchester County. The Philharmonic’s main stage concert series makes its home at the 1,300 seat Concert Hall at the Purchase Performing Arts Center, as well as outdoor concerts, chamber concerts, children’s programs, and special events throughout the area, attracting savvy music-lovers from Westchester, Fairfield, Rockland, Putnam, and Bergen counties, and even New York City.

This Sunday, they are hosting a family-friendly performance of Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE and selected other pieces. Beginning at 2 pm teaching artists from the Philharmonic will be on hand in the lobby to guide young listeners in a “musical petting zoo” as they explore violins, cellos and more courtesy of Ardsley Musical Instrument Service, the place where we’ve always gotten our kids’ instruments!

Here is some more information on the performance. Hope to see you there!

The Phil invites audiences to hop aboard Principal Conductor Ted Sperling’s guided tour to a family-friendly program, perfect for all ages yet fully satisfying to the most sophisticated musical palates. Opening with Mozart’s mischievous Overture to The Magic Flute, the whirlwind scene is set for renowned pianist Anne-Marie McDermott performing the magnificent Grieg Piano Concerto, with its famous opening passage. Then optimism and boundless possibility suffuse Beethoven’s Second Symphony.

*February 8 concert tickets for young people 17 and under are FREE with a paid adult ticket but you must call to reserve your seat. Advance reservations are required. Call (914) 682-3707*

Disclosure: I received 2 complementary tickets to the Philharmonic to facilitate writing this post.

Last week, my family celebrated my daughter’s 15th birthday. Certainly one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind was how impossible it was that I was the parent of a child that old. As I often do on milestones like birthdays, I went back in time and thought about my pregnancy with her. Everything felt so new and scary. There were so many choices we had to make, some as simple as picking a nursery pattern. But others were more involved, involving her health and well-being.

One of the conversations we had with our doctor involved cord blood banking… if you want to call it a conversation. We had seen some material about it in the waiting room at the hospital, and we brought it with us to one of our prenatal appointments. Our doctor didn’t know much about it and dismissed it out of hand as science fiction and ridiculously expensive. Like many new parents, we took her word for it and decided not to pursue it.

Seven years later when I was pregnant with my son, it was a very different conversation we had with a different ob/gyn. She was more informed than our prior doctor was, but still didn’t know much more. She didn’t discourage us from pursuing a banking opportunity, but she didn’t offer much knowledge either.

So it was fitting that 15 years after my daughter was born, I attended a session hosted by ViaCord to discuss stem cell banking. It was the kind of opportunity I wished I had as an expectant mom, to learn more about what cord blood banking is all about.

The Cord Blood 101 Presentation

The session was hosted by Morey Kraus, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, ViaCord and Kate Falcon Girard, RN MSW, Clinical Manager with ViaCord. They took the time to explain what cord blood is, how they collect and store it, and why it’s more important than we ever realized.

In their 101, they explained that cord blood is the blood that remains in a newborn’s umbilical cord after birth. This blood is a great source of stem cells, which are the building blocks of tissues, organs, blood, and the immune system, and have the power to heal. The potential for the cord blood extends beyond the child who the banking was done for. Certainly the baby is a perfect genetic match to his or her own stem cells. Siblings have a 75% chance of being a match for each other, and studies show that using matched cord blood from a relative will double the chance of transplant success. According to ViaCord, more than 60% of their transplants have been used for a matched sibling.

A sample ViaCord kit

The process is quite simple. If you choose to do this, a kit is sent to the hospital. After delivery, the baby’s umbilical cord is clamped and cut. The doctor or nurse will then insert a needle into the umbilical cord to collect the remaining blood. The bag is then sealed and placed it in the ViaCord collection kit. From start to finish, the cord blood collection process takes about five minutes and neither the baby nor the mom is hurt in any way.

During the session, I was curious who in my circle of friends had done this, who had not, and what was their decision making process that led them to their choice. I went to Facebook during the session and asked who had and who had not, and why. Most of them had the same questions that I did when I was pregnant and I figured I would use the information shared in our session to address them.

Here are some of the most common misconceptions:

“We don’t have a history of blood diseases in the family, so we didn’t pursue it.” – Cord blood stem cells are certainly vital to transplant medicine, where the infusion of stem cells goes into a patient’s bloodstream to regenerate blood, tissue, and the immune system. But there is a good deal of emerging research that’s aiming to bring about potential therapies that use cord blood stem cells to cure some serious conditions, including autism, brain injury, cerebral palsy, and Type 1 diabetes.84

“The viable storage time is 3-5 years” – According to ViaCord, the first cord blood collations frozen nearly 25 years ago were shown to be just as healthy as cord blood that had been stored for much shorter periods. And yes, based on this answer, they did have cord blood collection technology 20 years ago, but doctors and nurses were probably not well educated about the potential benefits.

“It’s too expensive” – 15 years ago, that’s definitely how we felt. I can’t remember how much it was exactly, but as a new parent preparing to move, buy a new house and begin furnishing a nursery: money was tight. ViaCord has made an effort to address this by lowering the upfront cost of banking by 40%. They also have a gift registry where friends can choose to support your decision to bank cord blood instead of gifting yet another receiving blanket.

“My doctor didn’t do it for her child when she was pregnant, so I figured it wasn’t worth it for me.” - This was the big one for me. When I was pregnant 15 years ago, I had no information on cord blood banking to go on. Now that it has been used in transplants and studies are looking at more and more uses for it in treatment of nearly 80 diseases2, we know much more than we did at the beginning. As such, it’s important for parents to understand this option, what it means not just for their child but for their entire family, potentially, so they can make an informed decision.

So, knowing what I know now, would I have made a different decision 15 years ago? Hindsight is 20/20 of course, so it’s impossible to say for sure but I certainly left the session feeling a lot more informed than when I walked in. Hopefully all expectant parents will take the time to learn what cord blood banking is all about so they can make the right decisions for their family.

In the category of “we always want what we do not have”, I have spent most of my life dreaming of having big volume curly hair.

I loved the 80s!

OK, so maybe not THAT big and messy. But definitely in the category of “the bigger the hair, the closer to God.” My natural hair is very thin and flat, and I have just never been able to build volume without getting a perm.

You’re not seeing a photo of that.

OK, maybe you are.

That’s me using my perm to full effect, dressed as “Magenta” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I think it was for a school Halloween dance, but it could have been any random Tuesday.

It was still pretty curly in college.

Ahem…

It took a LONG time to grow out that perm. I swore I would never get one again, but never stopped dreaming of big, luscious hair.

I’ve read a lot about people giving up shampoo, whether it is for a baking soda treatment or to just condition your hair without having shampooed it. I was intrigued, and started going without shampoo and only using conditioner. I never got my curls to last more than a few hours, but I certainly liked the way it looked while it lasted. I definitely took the chance to hit DryBar whenever possible.

Me, with Sasha Grey, and two great blow-outs

The above photo was during a trip to LA to work on Sasha’s book promo video. I hit DryBar first thing and got the “Southern Comfort”. Even though we were in LA where it’s not humid, the curls still didn’t really last.

Earlier this year, I attended Getting Gorgeous where Alberto Vo5 was the presenting sponsor. I happened to get there early, so early that they were still setting up the room. I saw that the Vo5 booth was offering hair consultations, and it seemed only right to take advantage of my early-bird arrival to get one of those makeovers.

Megan was the stylist. She asked me what kind of a hair treatment I wanted – straightening, braids, curls, whatever. I told her of my quest for the perfect head of cascading curls. Agreeing that she could make that happen, she began to work while asking me about my hair care routine. I told her about the no shampoo thing I had been doing, making do in-between with dry shampoo. She said that was a great idea for someone with course, curly hair, but for me, I was better off shampooing not once but twice (the first time moves the oil and dirt around, the second removes it) and using a very light conditioner, or none at all.

I was flabbergasted. How was that possible? But as Megan went on, it made sense. My hair was very thin, and hence light. When I weighed it down with conditioner and even most products, it went flat instantly.

She said the best way to style my hair after washing it was to curl it with my usual iron and pin up the curls in clips for at least 20 minutes. Right before removing the clips, spray it good with hair spray.

She gave me samples of two products from the Salon Secrets line. First, the Simply Stunning Leave in Conditioner. Rather than using a heavy conditioner in the shower, she said this was great to keep my hair untangled, but not weighed down. Second was a hairspray designed for maximum hold – Perfect Hold Non Aerosol Hairspray. I was quite happy with these products, as Alberto Vo5 is a very affordable product line and if I liked these products, I knew I wouldn’t experience sticker shock when I bought them. But what about the results?

Here’s the headshot that they took of me at the event. This was such a fun hairstyle, and it lasted for 3 days, pretty much as you see it here. I’m using Megan’s techniques whenever I want a special look for an occasion, and I remain a devote to shampoo, rinse, repeat and call it a day.

This is a sponsored post from Global Influence on behalf of Unilever and Walgreens

There is one food group that my entire family can agree on, and it’s ice cream. Given most any choice, we will always look for some frozen delight over cake, cookies, or the like. Doesn’t matter whether we’re at a high-end place or the local diner. If it’s time for dessert, that means ice cream.

He screams for ice cream

On one of my first trips to London some years ago, I spent a fair amount of time walking around the city and seeking out new sights. Over and over again, I would see the logo for an ice cream bar called Magnum at newsstands and street carts. Magnum wasn’t sold in the US back then, and there was no other equivalent that I knew of to compare, so I wasn’t sure if I would like it. Who knew what goodness I was passing up! Later in the trip, my colleagues and I went to a West End show. Like Pavlov’s dog, I was salivating for intermission, knowing that’s when London theaters served ice cream treats to the audience. As soon as the lights came up and the curtain went down, I was prowling around looking for the ice cream lady. Surprise, surprise, she was selling Magnum bars. I picked a vanilla bar with white chocolate coating. It was absolutely yummy. Of course, as sugar can make you, I felt immediately elated, and then a little depressed because I knew I couldn’t find this heavenly treat in the US. I also ended up walking out with my colleague’s used stick and wrapper snuck into my purse, but that’s a story for another post.

Years later, I was THRILLED to see a commercial announcing that Unilever was bringing Magnum bars to the US. Maybe you remember it?

http://youtu.be/BzX3zgFDz2Q

You may think that is Rachel Bilson in the commercial, but no. That was me as soon as I learned I could get my beloved Magnum bars here in the States.

We used to keep half gallons in the fridge, but found that, ahem, portion control was an issue. It was much easier to have single serve treats ready to go, so we couldn’t overindulge. I was thrilled to know that I can find with delicious Unilever ice cream brands, such as Magnum, Breyers, Klondike, Frutare and Popsicle, readily available at my local Walgreens store. Our neighborhood store is open 24/7. I’m just saying. Not that I have ever made an ice cream run at that hour, but I could. Just knowing I could keeps me a little sane.

Go to your local Walgreens and grab what you are craving. This is ideal for hot summer (or fall) nights with the entire family, and it’s super convenient so you don’t have to make that grocery store stop or wait around for the ice cream truck. Be sure to have one (or two…three) for me!

Last month, Jordan and I had the chance to attend the KidzVuz Back to School Bash. The party was held as the closing event of the two-day Blogger Bash, and I am happy to say it brought the fun, for kids and adults.

In case you’re new to this world, KidzVuz is a video review sharing site for kids age 7-12. It’s the only online destination exclusively dedicated to letting tweens have their say and share their views about the stuff they love. It’s also totally safe for the kids – you don’t share any personal information, all videos are viewed by the KidzVuz team before they are posted, and there is no bullying of any kind permitted. Because of all this, parents can feel good about having their kids participate on the site.

KidzVuz is also known for having the best parties around, and there was no way my guy was going to miss that. At first, I couldn’t figure out a way to get from Blogger Bash in the city all the way up to Westchester to pick him up, and then turn back around to get into the city. “Schlep” was the word that came to mind. I took a chance and asked his day camp if they could bring him on one of their buses into the city, as I knew there were kids on routes not far from the venue. Of course they could and it worked out perfectly for both of us. I had to only walk a few blocks to get him, and shortly thereafter, he was able to experience all the fun of the party. And experience it he did!

Jordan has a KidzVuz account but hasn’t made any videos yet. He does however love watching videos from other kids, especially if they are talking about video games or technology. It won’t surprise anyone to know that his first stop inside the party was the Microsoft booth.

Photo Credit: Justin Lee, Josh Strass Studios

Maybe it was the candy? There was a huge display of beautiful, tasty sugar, and since it was gluten free, Jordan dug into it. At least at first. Then, he saw an XBox console, and all bets were off. As you can see in this quick video, he was all ears for the demo.

While he was monopolizing the XBox, I was able to chat with some of the Microsoft folks in attendance. They have a lot of fun stuff going on, and shared with me some of their tips to foster growth, learning, and, of course, fun with kids.

Fuel creativity and create your own video game world with Project Spark. Take it from me – I used to work with game programmers and I know you can actually make a living playing video games! With Project Spark, we are opening the doors to the development process, encouraging parents and their children to build their own game worlds that let their imagination go wild while at the same time, learning the nuts and bolts that make up video game development. Play Project Spark for free on Xbox One and Xbox 360, and check in on your game worlds on your Surface tablet.

If they love Project Spark, try out a new kind of free summer camp at Microsoft Retail Stores. Microsoft YouthSpark Summer Camps are the perfect solution, with free camps at Microsoft Retail Stores across the nation. The camps include programming designed to teach kids computer science skills in fun and engaging ways including learning how to build, publish and bring mobile games to life, as well as produce and design their own digital movies.

If you’re looking for something a little more physical, get extreme with Kinect Sports Rivals. With the new Kinect Sports Rivals game for Xbox One, your kids can experience their favorite extreme sports challenges! Kinect 2.0 registers the slightest flick of a finger to grab the hold on a rock or pull the throttle on your jet ski, making for a rewarding and realistic sports experience that may even get them breaking a sweat.

Make online searches safer and more rewarding with Bing in the Classroom. With a new school year comes a new, interactive way to search. Encourage your child’s school to sign up for Bing in the Classroom, a program that provides ad-free, safer, more private search in schools, daily lesson plans that ask questions that inspire critical thinking and a Rewards program that you can use to earn Surface tablets for their school! No matter what your child is searching, you can be sure that they are seeing appropriate content and learning along the way.

Write, type and play with Surface Pro 3. Help your teen tackle their assignments and stay organized as they pursue part time jobs, college applications and of course extracurricular activities with the tablet that can replace a laptop: Surface Pro 3. Its sleek, lightweight and durable design brings together the best of a laptop and the best of a tablet in one gorgeous package, making it perfect to take anywhere from the classroom to a friend’s house. Attach one of the colorful Type Covers to turn out a term paper, or open an OneNote page with the click of the all-new Surface Pen for hand-written notes or doodles. And with up to nine hours of battery life, it will last all day at school and be ready to take on a Netflix session when it’s time to relax.

Have fun while learning with educational Windows Apps. School is out for the summer, but that doesn’t mean your child needs to stop learning! Windows apps like Where’s My Mickey introduces a whole new world of physics-based gameplay from Disney. If you want to test math skills, Number Tap challenges the player against the rest of the world in a fast paced number tapping math frenzy. To disguise learning as a game even further, try out BrainPop, where your child can watch a different animated movie every day about current events, historical figures, holidays and more.

Want to be more active? Get fit with Xbox Fitness. For Mom and Dad, try Xbox Fitness, which offers the same great tracking technology as Kinect Sports Rivals for a personalized training experience in the comfort of your living room. Choose from a library of training programs from favorite trainers like Jillian Michaels and Tracy Anderson.

At the end of the day, stay entertained with Surface 2. With the 1080p widescreen display, Dolby® audio, and built-in multi-position kickstand, Surface 2 is perfect for those nights when watching Frozen with your child is at the top of the to-do list. Or, if your kid is musically inclined, they can stream free music and even import their iTunes playlist. Your child can get the most out of their time with Surface 2 by using apps side-by-side; keeping an eye on their music downloads while emailing friends and family in Outlook. Surface 2 also comes with Office built in, making the perfect family device for having fun and getting stuff done.

A glimpse of some of the party fun – Photo Credit Justin Lee, Josh Strauss Studios

Without a doubt, I was the coolest mom in the world that night, at least in Jordan’s mind. He left the party in happy tears, crying out “I wish I could live here!” Oh my sweet boy, so do I.

I’ve always been someone who loves fitness and exercise…with the exception of running. Give me a hardcore spin class, an elliptical machine, or a grueling cross training class any day. Running is for OTHER people. The non-top heavy who don’t run the risk of getting a black eye on the straightway (I’ll let you ponder that image for a moment…go ahead, I’ll wait).

But then one day, I saw the bait and bit. I blame a lot of people, but mostly Amy. Amy is the woman I walked 26.2 miles through the moonlight streets of Manhattan, dressed in a bra. During our 10 hour walk of shame bonding session, we talked about a lot of things, including her runDisney experiences. It was then that I decided if I could finish the crazy walk, I could do a runDisney race. After all, there were shiny medals to be won!

Amy and I before the 10K

Since this was my first race, well, ever, I wanted to take it slowly. I signed up to do the Enchanted 10K that was being held during the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. Amy was going to do the Glass Slipper Challenge, which involved running the Enchanted 10K on a Saturday, and a 1/2 marathon that very next day. I knew I wasn’t up to that, but running essentially 6 miles was.

The trip was originally going to be just me, but somehow the kids and my mom got added into the trip. Sarah didn’t want to run herself, but I signed Jordan up for one of the kids races. We ended up having a weekend we would never forget, and vowed to sign up for this year’s weekend. Why was it so amazing? Without much effort, here are five reasons.

1. runDisney races are magical affairs with liberal pixie dust all around. I will always remember when “Let It Go” came up on my iPod shuffle at the beginning of the race. I ran with a little bit more spring in my step, until I thought I heard the same song at a different point somewhere else. I pulled out my ear buds to find out, yes, it was playing off speakers. Speakers that were attached to a gigantic truck on the overpass, where Elsa was waving to all the runners, and sprinkling snow all over the course. I turned to a runner next to me and she looked as struck by it as I was. That was but one of the amazing moments I experienced during the race.

I found my name on the 10K board at the Race Expo. I was officially a runner!

2. People dress in costumes – I decided to create a very simple tribute to my favorite rodent, Minnie Mouse. But during a runDisney race, people come to play. There were heroes and villains. Thousands of princesses. A few Olafs. And this costume, which I think was probably my favorite.

One little spark!

My friend Ashley has worn some amazing outfits. While I loved what she’s done, I wasn’t sure about running in costume, much less running period, so I kept it simple. For next time, I’m stepping it up and have a grand plan I can’t wait to share it with you!

3. runDisney is about inclusion – Jordan isn’t much of an athlete. He has hypotonia, which means he can’t run for long periods of time. So why did I sign him up for a race? I had a lot of questions very similar to that as we waited at the finish line.

Parents are allowed to run with the kids, so I went out there with him. When the starter pistol fired, he ran a little but very quickly announced he was tired. I tried to encourage him to RUN RUN RUN, which he did. And didn’t. He was moving rapidly towards the back of the pack. At the end when we could see the finish line, we saw Goofy waiting. When Goofy spied Jordan as the last runner, he ran out and got him and cheered him (silently) across the finish line. Jordan was disappointed that he finished last, but was thrilled that Goofy supported him. Of course, when he got his medal, that was all he could talk about.

It seemed to take a really long time for Jordan’s race to start. The time came and went, with no announcements other than “soon”. I texted Sarah who was waiting at the finish line to see if she knew anything. Then, coming from the finish line, I heard a huge cheer. Sarah texted back right after to say the race was now over because the last competitor finished while pushing her wheelchair across the finish line. Sarah said it was one of the most amazing things she had ever seen, and had mad respect for the girl who had pretty much won the hearts of everyone that day. Mad props to Sarah Kate who rightly was the most amazing kid in the world that day.

4. runDisney is about supporting others – when I was done running the back loop of the 10K going around the lake at the back of Epcot, the final runner was coming out of Epcot to begin that same loop. When I tell you that every single runner with me moved to the side to high five that runner and cheer her on, know that I am not exaggerating.

When I was finally done with the race, I could not walk. No, really, I couldn’t walk. My feet were killing me, and I was as sore as you can be. I started shuffling off to the front of Epcot to meet my family. I started to notice that someone was walking behind me and talking to me. It was a woman named Trish, and she was telling me about all the races she’s run. When I told her it was my first race EVAH, she insisted on buying me a latte to celebrate. Just a wonderful act of kindness from a fellow runner. Made me feel like I had entered some sort of special club.

5. THE SHINY MEDALS – when I tell you that I wore my medal around the whole day, I am not kidding.

Minnie was most impressed by my outfit.

So was the prince. This year, I’m doing the Glass Slipper Challenge and when I finish, I will be wearing all three medals around my neck everywhere. Let TSA try and pry them off me on the return trip home. Ain’t gonna happen.

Have you run a runDisney race? How was it? And if you haven’t, tell me what race would you want to run?

Like many of my friends, I’m in a bit of a post World Cup hangover. For a good month, we had access to the best soccer in the world, sometimes with more than one game a day. While I am terribly nostalgic for those days of being spoiled soccer rotten, I know that there is a way to get my fix in.

In the NYC area, we have a top-flight MLS team of our very own. Of course I am talking about the New York Red Bulls. They have been members of the league since it’s inception, and play in an amazing, state of the art arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

We try to get to at least a game a year. The Red Bulls are very involved in our soccer community and we usually find ourselves at events that they are participating in. For instance, they were a part of the Verizon Wireless #vzwbuzz #soccerfever event that kicked off the world cup.

Note, this post is NOT sponsored by Verizon or the Red Bulls. Just sharing here people, just sharing.

Anyhow, we have several friends who are season ticket holders, and when one of them let us know he was not going to be able to use his tickets….well, I don’t think he got all the words out before we said YES PLEASE. Sometimes opportunity has to knock before you take time out of your day to make something happen.

Our game was Saturday, August 2 and OF COURSE the opponent was a Boston team. Yes, we were going to see the NY Red Bulls (who play in NJ) take on the New England Revolution. Fine by me. What’s another wrinkle in our family’s NY-Boston rivalry?

The seats our friend the season ticket holder has are considered club level. I had never gone “club” before, so to speak, and I was curious to see what it was like.

On the day of the match, we ended up leaving A LOT of time to get to the arena. How much time, you ask? Well, the Bullevard opens 3 hours before the game, and they were just setting up when we got there. In actuality, the drive from Westchester was 40 minutes. I was prepared for traffic. There was none.

Now, what’s the Bullevard, you ask? Well, it’s a great assortment of family-friendly sponsor activities. Jordan got to play a little FIFA ’14 thanks to AT&T and their truck o’video games.

He also took a picture as a corporate shill. As a loyal Verizon customer with a mother who loves her Nokia Lumia Icon Windows Phone (which, yes, was a prize won from Verizon), you know he was not happy.

We spend a little time playing games (there are Red Bulls trainers doing skills drills and hosting kick arounds on the Bullevard) until the club entrance opened. How did we know where it was? Oh, the Red Carpet told us…

We went inside, and after the usual security check and ticket punching, we were off to the races. Or, rather, the club lounge. It was a good thing we were hungry. You could definitely make a meal with everything they had inside. Food ranged from simple kid-friendly offerings like hot dogs and house-made potato chips to more adult offerings like carved loin of pork and a RB clam bake. I was thrilled to see a salad bar with roasted veggies and other toppings. We had time to kill in here, and I can say we put that time to good use!

Carving station and home of the RB Clam bake

Hot Dogs and chips with Old Bay seasoning, anyone?

SALAD! VEGGIES! HAPPINESS!

Husband and I were quite comfortable in the lounge, but Jordan was getting anxious. He wanted to see some soccer, and he wasn’t going to wait!

“Me Want Soccer!”

We figured he’d get antsy in the seats, so we walked around the stadium. It really is one of the finest in the land, and I do believe it would rival anything that the rest of the football world has to offer. Even though we were stuffed to the gills, we were impressed with the offerings of food and beverage outside of the club. I remember when the Red Bulls played at Giants Stadium and it was slim pickings for grub. No more. Fantastic beer selection too.

Finally, after we did a lap or two of the stadium, it was time to sit down.

Pre-game festivities

I still resent Keith Olbermann’s comments about the Red Bulls. He said something in one of his rantstirades Special Opinions that when you went to buy tickets to a Red Bulls match and asked what time it started, you were told, “What time can you get here?” Nothing could be further from the truth. The Red Bulls have an amazing base of loyal and devoted fans who show up in force to support their team. Attendance for this match was announced at 20,800 something, which is pretty impressive for any sport.

The match was a classic from the beginning. The Revs scored first, but the Red Bulls came back with 2 unanswered goals and won 2-1. Jordan just loved it. Our seats had a great view of the action, but I think it’s hard to find a bad seat in that place. The lounge was open throughout the game, so when the men looked a little tired, I was able to run up to grab them some more popcorn. The Gersteins officially at our weight in popcorn that night. If you were there and found no popcorn in the club lounge, all I can say is “Sorry. Not sorry.”

So, if you need that cure for Soccer Fever, you simply must head out to Red Bull Arena to check out a game. We drove from Westchester, but there are many mass transit options available, as the Arena is easily accessible to fans via public transportation including the PATH Trains and NJ Transit to the Harrison Station. It’s great for families or a bunch of friends who want a night out. If you get a chance to go for club seats, do it! In addition to the special entrance and access to the club lounge, you get practically on the pitch seating and VIP parking. The next home game is August 23rd versus Montreal, but there are games in September and October as well. Check the web site for information on special multi-game ticket packages. Don’t wait, get your cure for soccer fever now!

Living near New York City, you find yourself positively spoiled by the array of sporting teams available to view. We have not one but two major league baseball teams, 2 basketball teams, 3 hockey teams (if you count the Islanders, which I usually don’t) and 2 football teams (that have the name NY but play in NJ). But here’s the thing – most of the time, it’s pretty expensive to go to these games, if you count admission prices, food, transportation, and parking.

I love a good baseball game as much as the next girl, so when I got the chance to attend a Staten Island Yankees game, I was all in. The SI Yanks, nicknamed “the Baby Bombers” are a short-season A minor league team that’s part of the NY Penn League. They were originally brought to NY in 1999 as part of a deal brokered by noted Yankees fan Mayor Rudy Giuliani. They play their games at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark on the northern tip of the island.

A minor league game offers the same experience of attending a great sporting event, at a lower cost which makes it great to bring a crowd. Like most minor league teams, the SI Yanks keep ticket and concession prices down to attract a family audience. Last time we brought the kids to a game, we spent over $150 including tickets and food. No souvenirs that trip – thankfully there was a giveaway so we didn’t have to pay out for that as well.

The SI Yankees ballpark is really easy to get to from lower Manhattan. A quick, FREE Staten Island Ferry ride will get you to within a few feet of the ballpark. Really!

There’s nothing like a Staten Island Ferry ride. It’s one of my favorite tips for tourists, and frankly, us New Yorkers could benefit from a quick sea getaway too. You board the Ferry at the terminal – during peak times it normally runs every 20 minutes, but check the schedule to be sure.

Waiting with the crowd for the Ferry

While the game is a great option for families, because we were going on a weekend, we decided to make it a date night. My husband works in the city, so I met him in front of the Ferry after he took the subway downtown. We had a quick 10 minute wait before we were able to board the boat.

Our vessel!

We ran to the top of the boat so we could have some amazing views of the city as we pulled out on the 15-20 ride to Staten Island.

Can you believe this was his first ferry ride? The views were unreal, as lower Manhattan disappeared into the horizon and we headed out to sea.

Once on the Island, we were pleased to see people were respectful. They greeted my husband quite nicely.

OK, so that’s really the Staten Island Railroad. Who knew? Plus, the terminal is one of the few places in the area with a DQ. I miss DQ.

The St George terminal had great signage that directed us to the ballpark. It was a 5 minute walk, tops. Once we arrived, we got our tickets and checked out the place. Like most things, we arrived an hour before the game so we had some time to explore. The park is right on the water, and there are some beautiful views and lovely breezes, perfect for a hot summer night.

Beautiful ballpark by the water

The Baby Bombers even have their own mascot. Heck, the Yankees don’t even have a mascot. Meet Scooter, the Holy Cow (Yanks fans will get that one, instantly!)

HOLY Cow!

We decided to get something to eat and head to our seats. To our delight, food was quite reasonably priced. We had heard they revamped their menu, and could definitely see some unique options at reasonable prices.

One of the many concessions stands

While I thought Mister would go for the Lobster Mac n’ Cheese, being a New England boy and all, he decided fried food was more his style. I got a look at the pizza and thought it looked pretty good. Still, I went with a classic.

Yum. Nom. And all that.

Yes, it was great. A Nathan’s hot dog and fries. How can you beat that?

Now, after all that excitement, we were still there to see some baseball! Our boys were playing the Lowell Spinners, a farm team of the Boston Red Sox. Which, in actuality, made them Mister’s boys, as he is a Red Sox fan. Sigh. There is no escaping the NY-Bos rivalry in our world.

The game was fun, but MY boys struggled, eventually pulling to a final score 4-11. You can’t win them all. But you can get ice cream!

We collect helmets from ballparks around the country, so this was a great addition to our stash.

After the game, we made our way back to the terminal for the quick ride back to the city. From there, we could have taken trains home, but I had parked our car at a garage right next to the terminal, making it extra easy. But if you are in Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Queens, taking the subway to the ferry is just the ticket for a fun night out.

After attending a game, I can say for certain that a Staten Island Yankees game is a great choice for families, couples who want a different kind of date night in the city, or friends looking to get together after work. They host giveaways and special events (where were we on Disney Pirates and Princess night?) so be sure to check out their web site – there’s something for everyone!

Use promo-code: mommy for $12 tickets to a Staten Island Yankees game! Visit: http://atmilb.com/1x4QL1c for game schedules and ticket information.

Last year, my younger child was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Despite it being hereditary, thus far he’s the only family member with it. It’s very important for those with Celiac to eat a gluten-free diet. Even though Jordan ate gluten (some days exclusively) for all of his 7 years, we learned his body was reacting negatively to it and causing him to not absorb nutrients from food. So, his meals have to be free of all gluten products.

We have a trip to Disney coming up later this year. It will be our second trip after learning of his diagnosis. On our February trip, we had pretty good experiences at the full service restaurants we went to. Most were able to cook special GF items (GF Mickey waffles FTW!) or tell us what items were already GF that we should try.

One night I was tired (Princess Marathon weekend, and I was running) and just wanted to eat a quick dinner at the pool. I went to the counter service line and asked what they could do that was GF because nothing on the menu looked like it would work. The chef rummaged around the freezer a little and came up with a frozen package of Udi’s hamburger buns and announced he could have a burger with fries, but the fries would take a little while because she had to heat up the separate fryer. I told her burger = good, and skip the fries because he doesn’t like them. I was able to substitute chips instead.

That worked out well, but I really don’t feel like taking that chance all the time. I’d like a little more knowledge about what’s GF safe and what should be avoided. I use a Disney dining app (not by Disney) extensively. What if they had a GF version? Well, that company didn’t make one, but a quick search of the app store brought up an app called Gluten Free Disney Dining by Calypso Kid. I figured for $1.99 it was worth a try.

Net net, I was quite pleased with it and think it will be a great tool before and during my vacation. I put together a little video to talk about my experience in more depth and why this app is so important.

Just LOVING that thumbnail shot. Trust me, the rest of the video is better.

Right now, Disney Parks is running a great campaign that is totally up the alley of the Pixie Dust Girls. It’s called “Show Your Disney Side” and it’s something that a lot of people are having a great deal of fun with.

Everyone has a Disney Side- that fun-loving adventurous spirit that comes out to play when you’re feeling the Disney magic! In our house, I’m not sure we have a side other than our Disney Side!

We were selected by Mom Select and Disney Parks to host our own Disney Side party. We received a lovely kit to help make our party even more special. We printed out invitations, did some crafts from Spoonful, had a photo booth, and made lovely snacks.

Sully Cupcakes!

We also watched FROZEN, newly out on DVD. That was pretty much the highlight of the night for me.

Well, except for one other thing. We were able to do something at our Disney Side party that made it awesome. You see, I’ve always been jealous of all the “You’re Going To Disney” videos out there. In our house, it wouldn’t work to do it as a surprise. I mean, we go at least once a year, and the kids love planning as much as I do. But this time, we had the chance to do something that meant as much to me as it did to the recipient. A friend of Sarah’s, can you believe it, has NEVER been to Disney. She’s always wanted to go, but for whatever reason, her family hasn’t been able to work it. This year, we planned to go for Thanksgiving, and thought the time was right to bring a friend for Sarah. Of course, she wanted it to be this friend. We got to give her the surprise of her life, and boy was it awesome. It truly brought the spirit of Disney Side home to me. I can’t wait to for her to explore her Disney Side and for us to see the parks through her eyes.